Plant to manufacture iron by electrolytic means



Oct. 6, 1925. 1,556,408

A. BOUCHER I PLANT TO MANUFACTURE IRON BY ELECTROLYTIC MEANS Filed march17, 1925 I 4 Sheets-Sh'et ArramvEr Oct. 6,1925. 1,556,408

A. BOUCHER PLANT T0 MANUFACTURE IRON BY ELECTROLYTIC MEANS I Filed March17, 1925 4 Sheets-{Sheet 2 I Ti .1;

Oct. 6,1925- 4 A. BOUCHER PLANT TO MANUFACTURE IRON BY ELECTROLYTICMEANS F e March 17, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 OH OH INN A. BOUCHER PLANT TOMANUFACTURE IRON BY ELECTROLYTIC MEANS 'Fil d h 17, 1925 4 Sheets-Sheet4 Fig.5.

wmm w/Z l me jauazg w I By M z/ 4 Q ATTORNEY ditions which have beendescribed 1 in myv Patented @ct. d, H925.

narra assent STATES PArrnr OFFICE.

.anrnnrnn revenue, or rams, FRANCE, ASSIGHOB, T0 LA socmrn 1m ma, or Iennnorw, manor.

PLANT To MANurAcrnnn men BY rmnc'raomz'rlo MEANS.

Application filed March 17, 1925. Serial Io. 18,285.

To all whom it may concern:

' Be it known that I, ANTImLME BOUCHER, a citizen of the Republic .ofSwitzerland, residing at Paris, France, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in a Plant to Manufacture Iron by ElectrolyticMeans, of which'the following is a specification.

As is well known to persons skilled in the art, in order to obtain goodresults in electrolytically tion on a cathode, the operation must beconducted under certain clearly defined conprior Patent No. 1,086,132,granted Febru ary 3, 1914, and in patent to Auguste Bouchayer, No,1,516,326, granted November 18, 1924."

The said as will be remembered, the following ones:

1st. Constant circulation of the ferrous salt solution around thecathode.

2nd. Maintenance of the said solution at a constant degree ofconcentration.

3. Maintenance of the said solution at a constant temperature.

4. Maintenance of the said solution in a physicochemical conditioncalculated to ensure ood depolarization.

5. d lastly rotation of the cathode. The object of the invention is toprovide a plant to manufacture iron by electrolytic means and onanindustrial scale that will meet the above-recited requirements inpractice. Besides the general arrangement, the plant is characterized bya system of peculiar dispositions or of special devices designed andcombined in view ofefiectuating the required conditions and of fosteringin the best possible way the electrolytic process.

The improved plant comprises a series of electrolyzing troughs, each ofwhich is provided with a rotary cathode and in which a continuouscirculation of the electrolyte is obtained in the manner hereinafterdescribed. I

In order to make the invention more clearly understood, there has beenillustrated, as an example an embodiment thereofin and by drawingsappended hereto and wherein:

F g re l stews d at a y Plant designed to keep the solution used at thedesired constant temperature. 7

a neutralizing manufacturlng iron by deposi-' conditions or requirementsare v comprises a serles of electrolyzing trou hs constructed accordingto the invention some details of which are illustrated by the otherfigures.

Figure 2 ma sectlonal view of a device} 'sultable for oxidizing theelectrolyte.

Figure 3 shows, also sectionally, a heater Figure 4 is a section of anddecanting device.

Figures 5 and 6 are electrolyzing troughs fitted with its rotarycathodeand show also the manner in which the said cathode is rotated aswell as the way in which the electric current is -sup-" plied thereto.

In all the figures the same reference numerals denote the same parts.

As apparent from the drawings the plant The return channel 3 dischargesinto a collecting tank 6; which constitutes thelowest point of thecircuit and from which the elevator or pump 7 which brings it into va-'rious apparatus indicated at 8-910-9- 10', the functions of which willbe hereinafter explained, and wherethrough the electrolytic solutionsuccessively circulates by gravity to come out of the last apparatus 10'through a conduit 11 that leads it to the distributing channel 2. Thewhole plant is so designed as to ensure by gravity constant circulatingof the solution constantly supplied from the lowest point of the circuitand lifted again to the topmost point thereof by the elevator 7. On thedrawin the arrows show the direction'along whic the solution circulates,

details of one of the I said electrolyte is constantly raised by anBesides the various electrolyzing troughs 1, the plant comprises atrough 12 called the regulating reservoir which is mounted, like thetroughs 1 themselves, parallelly between channels 2 and3 and whereintheelectrolyte, ledin by an insulatorpipe 13 and As will be readilyrealized the general arrangement of the plant permits to'be en-" suredone of the operating requirements hereabove reminded, to wit: constantcirculating of the electrolyte around the cathode in each of theelectrolyzing troughs.

It will now be explained how the plant meets the various other aboveindicated requirements.

First of all, maintenance of the electro-" lyticsolution at a constantdegree of predetermined concentration is readily efiected by means ofsuitably regulated additions of liquids, which additions may be made :atany.

point of the circuit but preferably in the regulating reservoir 12through, for instance, a pipe 13 provided for this purpose.

In order to keep the electrolytic solution at a constant temperature(the third hereabove mentioned requirement) care should, in the firstplace, be taken to avoid losses of heat by suitable calorific insulationof the Various'parts of the plant: containers, apparatus, conduits,ducts, channels, buildings, etc. i

Furthermore, at one or several points of the circuit, the-solutionshould be Suitably re-heated by any suitable agent: steam, hot gases,electricity, fuel. Such re-heating may, for instance, be accomplished inone or several of the heating apparatus comprised in the series ofdevices indicated at 8, 9, 10, 9 and 10, In the embodiment shown twore-heaters 9 and 9 are provided, and I have illustrated, as an example,in Figure 3, such a heater where the solution, entering at 16 andleaving at 15, is heated by\ some hot fluid-circulating through a coil18.

The fourth requirement-maintenance of the solution in a physico-chemicalcondition producive of good depolarization may, in the plant shown, beachieved by various means used either separately or in combination. i Asis well known the first thing to be done consists in keeping the liquidsuitably oxidized. For this purpose I may oxidize the solution either byinjecting air or oxygen with or without steam, or I may add oxygen bymeans of the apparatus indicated at 8, through which the solution ispassed and an oxidation in the trough 12 eeaeos Figure 2, 19and'20iindicate, respectively,

the inlet and outlet of the solution into and from the apparatus or suchoxidation maybe obtained' by the formation' of oxygen resultingv fromthe use of insoluble anodes. I may therefore effect this b arranging s.-

soluble anodes therein.

- Since an excess of oxygen admitted into i cluded'in the circuit, sayat 10 and 10 and the details of which will be hereinafter described;

y tankpand 21 indicates the inlet forthe. air or, oxygen. Personsskilled in the artareaware-that.

As is well known, there become formedlin i the course of operationsinsoluble substances,

such as muds and slimes, an excess of which i it is necessary toeliminate. Partof these enters at 23, follows the pat-h indicated by thearrows and comes out at 24. During its passage through the filings thesolution at the same time that it becomes neutralized, leaves on thesaid 'filings the greater part of its insoluble mud contents.

The muds extracted either in the '=neutralizers or in the regulatingreservoirtare collected and afterwards washed and treated so as torecover their ferrous salt'contents; which salt after being eitherconcentrated or diluted to a suitable degree, may be added to theelectrolyte by means of the pipe 15 which discharges into the regulatingreservoir 12. The rotation of the cathode in eachtrough and its electricconnection may be effected by the devices illustrated bysubstances mayberemoved in-theneutralizv supported on bearings .so arranged as to permitit to be readily withdrawn for collecting the iron formed byelectrolytic deposit. I utilize a collector 26 constituted by a shaftwhich is connected at one of its ends witha suitable source of motivepower and the other end of which is coupled to the cathode by means of asleeve 27 that transmits the rotary motion.

The stator with which such shaft or rotor i I by gravity ter istransmitted to the collector either by means of brushes orby'means of aliquid conductor (mercury, for instance).

Lastly. the current is transmitted from the Collector 26, to the cathodeby means of a ring made in two parts clamped collar, the Whole marked27.

In Figure 6 the anode is 'seenat 28.

It is to be clearly understood that the above described embodiment hasbeen given merely as an example and that the right is reserved tointroduce, any constructional modification without being deemed todepart fronrthe scope of the invention.

The number and the arrangement of the various a ')paratus or devices89109- I 10' maybe varied; each of them may also be duplicated so as topermit -"interchange or to serve as a spare if required.

These various devices may be separate, as shown, or grouped so as toconstitute a single unit. 1

"I claim as my invention: 1. A plant for the continuous productionofelectrolytic iron, comprising an electro-w lyzing trough provided withan anode and a cathode and adapted to circulate an electrolytegravitally therethrough; a pipe for supplying the electrolyte to saidtrough; a collector tank; piping for-delivering spent electrolyte fromthe trough to. said tank apparatus interposed between said tank andthecinlet' end of. the supply pipe and connected to the same forrevivifying the spent electrolyte; and a pump for constantly Withdrawingthe electrolyte I, "t'rom the collector tank and fiorcing it into andthrough said apparatus and thence'into v the supply pipe.

2. A plant forthe' continuous production of electrolytic iron,comprising a battery of electrolyzingtroughs' arranged sideby side,eaclr trough having an anode and a cathode therein and adapted tocirculate an electrolyte gravitally through it; a; supply-"pipe locatedabove and at one side of the battery of troughs and provided witha'series-of distributing pipes, one for each trough; a channel locatedbelow and at the other side of the battery of troughs and into which athey constantly discharge spent electrolyte;

a collector tank into which'said channel discharges by gravity;apparatus interposed between saidtank and the'inlet end of the supplypipe and connected to the same for revivifyingthe spent electrolyte; anda A pump for constantly withdrawing the elecat least one device forneutralizing and puritying the re-heated electrolyte.

with an electrolyzing trough provided with an anode anda cathode, pipingfor supplying an electrolyte at one end of the trough, and piping fordischarging the spent electrolyte at the other end thereof; of apparatusinterposed between the supply and dis. charge piping and connectedto thesame for I revivifying the spent electrolyte; and a pump for constantlyforcing the spent electrolyte from the discharge piping into and throughsaid apparatus and-thence into thesupply piping. I v

4. A plant, according to claim 3, in which nected with the dischargeside thereof, and.

5. A plant accordingto claim'3, in-which. the cathode in the electrolyzing trough has connected to it a device for continuously rotating it.

6. A plant according to claim 3, in-which the cathode is romovablymounted in the electrolyzing trough -to permit its bodily removaltherefrom, and \has releasably coupledtto it a device for continuouslyrotating]. J 7. A plant according to claim 3, in which the cathode intheelectrolyzingtrough has connected to it a device for continuouslyrotating it; and in which the revivifying' apparatus comprises anoxydizing tank, at?- least onere-heater connected with the dischargeside thereof, and at least one device; for neutralizing and purifyingthe re-heated electrolyte."

8. A plant according to claim 3, in which 100 I the cathode in theelectrolyzing trough has a collector for rotating .it; said-collectorembodying ashaft adapted to'be connected at one end with a sourceof'driving power, a clutch connection between the other end of saidshaftand the cathode to transmit the'rotation of the latter to theformer, and?- a stator associated with said shaft and connected withthe" negative pole of the source of current and means for transmittincurrent from the collector to the catho. e.- I

In testimonywhereof -I affix my signature.

ANTHELME BOUCHER.

. the revivifying apparatus comprises an .oxydizmg tank, at least onere-heater con-

